Education Commons^™

Using Toys To Support Infant-Toddler Learning And Development, Gabriel Guyton

All Faculty and Staff Papers and Presentations

Being mindful of the basic principles of child development and the role of play, teachers can intentionally select toys to meet young children's unique needs and interests, supporting learning.

The Massachusetts Early Education And Care Professional Development System Study: Year 1 Report, Anne Douglass, Lucinda Heimer, Winifred Hagan

Curriculum and Instruction Faculty Publication Series

The purpose of this report is to present the findings from the first year of the Massachusetts Professional Development System Study (MA PDS). This study examined the implementation of Massachusetts' new statewide model for professional development of the early education and care and out of school time workforce. The study was funded by the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC).

This study examined the process of implementation of the new professional development system between August 2010 and June 2011. Implementation research is important because it provides insights into whether a new system is operating as intended and identifies …

Teaching Social Justice Through The Lens Of Multicultural Education, Alana Cimillo

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

With public school populations growing in socio-economic and racial diversity, as projected by the Census Bureau, there is a clear need for an understanding of this diversity to occur at the early childhood level. In order to truly adopt multicultural education as an integral part of a student’s academic growth, teachers must consider the meaning of “cultural competence”. In the first years of a student’s education, fundamental values can be developed as the building blocks for future culturally responsive human beings. This presentation will review concrete evidence that supports the incorporation of multicultural education early childhood classrooms.

The Persona Doll Project: Promoting Diversity Awareness Among Preservice Teachers Through Storytelling, Mary Ellin Logue, V. Susan Bennett-Armistead, Soojoung Kim

Child Development and Family Relations Faculty Scholarship

The Persona Doll Project describes an experiential intervention with undergraduate preservice teachers designed to increase awareness about diversity and apply this awareness to curriculum planning and advocacy for children. Sixty-three undergraduate students in a social studies methods class were each assigned a persona doll for the semester whose background differed from their own. Each was charged with becoming the advocate for the child, represented by the doll, by telling informed stories that would help other students better understand a level of diversity beyond what they knew from their own lives. Students heightened awareness of their own assumptions through narrative, inquiry …

Domestic Violence And The Education Of The Nigeria Pre – School Child, Gladys Idogo

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

Literature tells us about three different views of children each relating to different era of civilization. The first is during the Greco – Roman times. During this period children were taken to be miniature adult and this depicted in the acts and paintings of that period. Children were not accorded any special status. As miniature adults, they were allowed to work on the fields and farms with little or no attachments to parents. The second is the medieval period. With the decline of the Greco-Roman civilization, Christianity came to the fore. Under the religious tenets, man was born evil and …

Examining Preschool And Kindergarten Teachers’ Beliefs About Play In Ghana, Mavis Dako-Gyeke

Academic Leadership: The Online Journal

Children all over the world engage in play. However, there are variations in their play activities. Play is present in all cultures (Singer & Singer, 1990), involves a wide array of behaviors from decisive to indecisive, and continues to be a key area of study from diversified viewpoints, ranging from ecological to cognitive (Sutton-Smith, 1993; Wolfberg & Schuler, 1993). Though categorical, criteria, and continuum approaches have assisted in organizing and classifying play activities, no definition or approach has accurately captured the range of behaviors that could be construed as play (Howard, Jenvey & Hill, 2006; Moyles, 2001). Even though play …

Exploring The Beliefs Of Commencing Early Childhood Education Graduate Students: Providing Insights To Improve Teacher Education Programs, Susanne Garvis, Bev Fluckiger, Danielle Twigg

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

In response to the increased demand for qualified early childhood educators in Queensland, many universities are being challenged to tailor make programs and identify innovative practices that support individuals interested in pursuing such a teaching qualification. Although research indicates that beliefs and perceptions are an important influence on pre-service teacher success in teacher education programs as well as in the workforce, little is known, however, about those of students as they enter early childhood education programs. This study focuses on the beliefs and perceptions that students bring to a Graduate Diploma in Early Childhood Education (GDipECE) being offered at Griffith …